Chamber Celebrates Downtown Revitalization

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – The Zanesville-Muskingum County Chamber of Commerce has been making major strides toward remaking the downtown an attractive destination for business.

Chamber President Dana Matz discussed some of the successful endeavors the Downtown Association has created toward enticing entrepreneurial business ventures downtown. 

“Day two of Chamber Week,” Matz said. “It’s where we get to celebrate all things chamber of commerce and their chamber members. One of the parts of the chamber of commerce is the Downtown Revitalization process. We’ve been involved with it since 1994. So we’re here at the Downtown Exchange bringing people into the downtown area and we’re also promoting small businesses. The entrepreneurs that you can see over my shoulder operating these restaurants are a big part of what we do as a chamber of commerce.”

Matz noted that Tuesday’s event was aimed to recognize downtown revitalization as well as celebrate the small business efforts that are working to make that growth happen.

“The Zanesville Downtown Association is the official entity and we’re in a consulting role at this point. The City of Zanesville has done a wonderful job with their Community Development department. We get involved with people asking real-estate questions, historical questions and then just different services and programs that are out there. So we get to help coach them up as they work with the city,” Matz said.

The Downtown Exchange is an establishment located on Main Street that houses several small eating establishments, who share a common dining area where patrons can enjoy a variety of tastes while socializing at the same table.

More than 80 percent of the Zanesville-Muskingum County Chamber of Commerce members are recognized as being small businesses.